It has been recommended by the Pediatric Society that infants and babies should always sleep on their backs and not in a prone position, to reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). However since the infants are kept for long periods of time on their backs, they can develop plagiocephaly or cranial disfiguration otherwise referred to as flattening of the back of the skull. Therefore, it was further recommended by pediatricians that babies need to spend time on their tummy known as “tummy time” in a prone position beginning at two months of age. Some suggest that “tummy time” has to be practiced from day one. Besides preventing cranial disfiguration, tummy time also promotes the development of muscular strength in the neck, back, shoulders and arms. Further it develops coordination, motor skills and head control required for rolling over and crawling.
Various baby products were developed in order to address the need for “tummy time” while reducing the involvement of the caregivers in the process. The requirements for those devices were to keep the baby in the prone position in a safe manner while preventing the baby from rolling on its back. It is also beneficial to raise the baby's head so the baby can observe the surroundings and not feel abandoned.
At some stage babies learn to turn onto their backs from the tummy position by using their head weight, making it difficult to keep them in the prone position for the required tummy time periods. Therefore it was still a need to provide a device to keep baby in the prone position and prevent rollover. The following patents illustrate various designs of support structures addressing the issue, however each of those designs has various deficiencies.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,449 issued to Smith teaches an elevated infant positioner restricting an infant's movement in lateral and vertical positions. However, this positioner does not prevent the infant from rolling over during the “tummy time” period.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,261,134 issued to Matthews, teaches a portable pillow for infant support. This pillow does not prevent an infant from rolling over to its back and further does not prevent the infant from sliding down from the pillow.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,853 issued to Linge, teaches an infant seat cushion comprising a foam cushion with an optional restraint for the infant. This device comprises several parts that make its operation cumbersome especially the restraining and the releasing functions.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,546,620 issued to Matthews, teaches a baby support comprising a mat and a cushion to support baby's chest in a prone position. This device, however, does not prevent baby from flipping over and from sliding down from the cushion.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,487 issued to Buitendach, teaches a baby chair that supports a baby in a seated position. This device however is not suitable for “tummy time” due to its design.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,117,553 issued to Fairchild et al., teaches an apparatus for support and development of an infant, comprising a mat with head and foot portions. This apparatus does not prevent the infant from rolling over and therefore the baby requires constant parent attention while utilizing this apparatus.
U.S. Patent Application No. 2002/0133881 to Vrbas et al., teaches an inclined pillow with fastening strips to hold a baby in supine or prone positions. This device positions a baby in a confusing awkwardly elevated position.
As it is apparent from a review of the prior art, there is still a need for simple and safe device for keeping a baby in a prone position.
It is therefore a primary object of the invention to provide a baby support device which is capable of retaining a baby in a prone position while preventing the baby from flipping over.
It is further an object of the invention to provide a device which is easy to operate without restraining straps.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide a device with inclined planes to keep baby's head elevated.
It is further an object of the invention to provide such a device made of a molding foam that is strong enough to restrain the baby and soft enough to be comfortable.
It is still a further object of the invention to provide such a device which is easy to clean and maintain.
Further and other object of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art when considering the following summery of the invention and the more detailed description of the preferred embodiment illustrated herein.